Going To Bed-Issues
by FairyTailor
Summary: Five years old Mereniell - fosterchild to Lord Elrond - arrives for a visit in Lothlorien with her father and his twin sons, Elrohir and Elladan. Being much too excited to go to sleep, the girl musters all her argumentation skills to convince a stern elvenlord of letting her stay up longer. And it takes two very mischievous brothers to help their father win this battle...


Ok, this is my very first try to upload something here. I'm really trying to consider all the rules and guidelines, and also the comfort of my potential readers. So please be gentle if I did something wrong. Tell me and I'll correct it right away.

Okay...

First: I'm no native speaker. I did my best to check all the spellings and grammar. Please let me know about mistakes. I'd really like to improve my English.

Second: DISCLAIMER! I don't own the setting of Middle Earth or any of the characters from Tolkien's stories. Only Mereniell and the idea for the outplay of this scene are my own.

Third (and last): Mereniell is an OC I've created fpr Tolkien's world of Middle Earth. She is a human girl who was - as an infant - found and raised by Elrond. And this is just a cute scene out of their everyday life.  
Mereniell is going to a trip to Lothlorien with her fosterfather and the twins, Elladan and Elrohir. But when they finally arrive, after a long journey, someone is much too excited to get the sleep her mortal body needs :)

Enjoy! and let me know everything you think about it, please!

* * *

Under the stern yet gentle gaze of Elrond the little girl sqirmed, biting her bottom lip, eyes darting back and forth, obviously searching for an excuse to stay up a little longer. Then suddenly she beamed at her fosterfather.

"I haven't been shown around the city!", she exclaimed.

"You will have plenty of time for that tomorrow, _after_ a good night's sleep.", Elrond stated firmly.

For a second the child's face fell, than hope shone up in her eyes again.

"But Adar", she stated trying to sound as reasonable as possible and it didn't escape Elrond's notice, that she used the formal expression to adress him, something she never did voluntarily.

"This is a dangerous state of beeing for me. Just imagine, I get lost around a place I do not know. Maybe I will NE-VER find back. Especially for a human spending a night alone and lost in the woods is much to dangerous!"

Elrond however was having nothing of the discussion his youngest child tried to start just to stay up how ever much longer she could manage. So he just reasoned her out by stating the obvious.

"You won't get lost, because you will lie in a bed, sleeping soundly."

A flicker of surprise brushed over the girl's features, for she hadn't thought about this logical mistake in the reasoning of her excuse to stay up. But she recovered quickly.

"What if I sleepwalk?", the girl gave back immedeately.

"You ARE not sleepwalking."

"But maybe I'll start _tonight_!"

Elrond drew in a breath to end this discussion - which was already serving the child to stay up at least as long as it lasted - with a firm instruction to be good now and go to bed. However before he could form the first word, Elrohir swiftly stepped to his father's side and took the word.

"Father, I fear we actually cannot ignore this risk."

Elrond turned to his son while Mereniell was utterly delighted, believing her brother had come to her help in her fight against bed-time. The elvenlord however was not delighted at all and just about to use his still held breath to scold Elrohir for interrupting his father when Elladan stepped to Elrond's other side and anew took the word from him.

"Yes indeed, what if she does start sleepwalking tonight? She could wander off and get eaten by a bear."

"Or a wolf", Elrohir added nodding his head in concerned agreement.

Elrond now let out the breath which hadn't come to be used for the words he had been about to say through the last seconds. But before he could question or scold the unappropriate and unreasonable behaviour of his son's, Elrohir was bending down and looking at his little human sister, asking her sympathically:

"Now, we cannot risk that, can we Mereniell?"

"No!", the girl exclaimed happily running up to her brother, who – like she still believed – had saved her from going to bed.

Elrohir scooped her up and send a meaningful glance to his twin, asking  
"Now we really _do_ have to prevent such tragedy from happening, right Elladan?"

Elladan quickly strode up to his siblings, looking very serious.

"By all means, Elrohir! But what can we do for little Mereniell not to sleepwalk into her doom by the fangs of wild animals?"

The girl now became suspiciuos, eying her brothers warily, for she had thought this question answered. For her not to sleepwalk into danger, she obviously would have to stay up! Forever, if one really wanted to be on the safe side! But her brothers seemed to not see this solution, which became clear by Elrohirs next statement.

"We have to make sure she cannot walk in her sleep so maybe I should sit on her back while she's sleeping…", he stated, seemingly not totally convinced of the said himself.

Mereniell's eyes widened at this suggestion. And she nodded feverishly when Elladan disagreed with his brother.

"Brother, you would crush poor Mereniell under your weight!"

But as he spoke on Mereniell's jaw dropped.

"We should tie her to the bed!"

"Oh", Elrohir exclaimed, acting pleasantly surprised, "Of course brother, I should have come up with that option myself!"

"Than it is decided. As a means against sleepwalking into doom, we will tie our beloved sister unto her bed tonight."

Mereniell, mouth gaping and eyes wide, had been looking back and forth between her two brothers who now smiled down sweetly at her and asked her in unision

"Agreed?"

"NO!", the girl exclaimed.

The brothers acted astonished and looked questioningly at her than at each other and back at her again.

"But dear sister!", Elladan said.

"You wouldn't want to sleepwalk into a bears mouth!", Elrohir continued.

"Now would you?", Elladan finally asked.

"I'm not sleepwalking!", the girl called out, realizing just a few seconds later, what she had just said. She huffed and crossed her arms while she was still on her brothers arm, where she now became limp after realizing her defeat.

The twins grinned in their father's direction.

"Well now if all doubt about the young one sleepwalking is erased, we shall escort her savely to her resting quarters."

Elrond shook his head smiling.

The twins along with Mereniell on Elrohir's arms were already moving away when Mereniell suddenly awoke from the little pout she had settled into, and pulled herself up at Elrohir's shoulders to whisper into his ear. He stopped his steps to concentrate on the hardly understandable murmurs of his sister. The human girl had learned quickly that living among elves a whisper had to be so low that even she herself couldn't understand her own voice, for otherwise the elven people all around her would allways hear what should stay a secret. But not hearing her own voice made her mumble quite unarticulatedly and it thus took Elrohir a moment to understand what she was trying to tell him. When he did , however, a wide smile spread across his face and he turned, once again heading back to Elrond.

Said elvenlord cast his children a questioning glance and almost started to fear another attempt of prolonging the bed-time-procedure when Elrohir finally reached his father and Mereniell, not leaving her brother's arms, clasped Elrond's robes to pull herself up to his face and place a kiss on his cheek.

"Good night, Ada!", she said in a small but happy sounding voice before the twins finally left with her.


End file.
